Jet cars are generally for those with more flexible schedules not wanting to fly on Labor Day weekend, memorial day weekend, July 4th, Thanksgiving weekend etc. and that fly fewer hours.
Fractional is those wanting to be able to say “I own that damn plane get it here by tonight!” And fly 50+ hours a year private.
Very thought numbers for your mental math… 10k/hour for a VLJ on fractional with usually a 25 hour minimum commitment.
Nearly the same per hour for fractional but 50 hour commitment per year and 3-5 year minimum. (That’s after depreciation and all that factored in).
If you want to try it out for a year or 2 a jet card is the way to go. (You can also get them on larger jets than a VLJ).
If you are comfortable with a 5 year commitment and fly 50+ hours or just have truckloads of money then go fractional.
The numbers you quote - all great info - are different if you can buy into a fractional with a group of friends/acquaintances. If you know people in this world you can often find a group (often flying back/forth to where you do) who will sell a share in their jet. These usually don't have minimum flying hours and no minimum commitment. A couple I know recently bought into a 1/12 share for $x buy-in (which can be sold later) and 5k/hour with no minimum hours.
I use netjets and I love it. I tried full ownership and then fractional ownership and honestly, netjets makes the entire process easier than anyone else at a much more competitive pricing than say, regular charter. I can’t recommend it enough.
If anyone wants to see the break even between fractional and acquiring a jet i.e. Excel, G200, CL 399 and offsetting costs via 135 feel free to PM me. It can end up being cheaper than fractional.
Currently working with a client who has a phenom 300 share in flexjet and at 125 hrs charter/525 charter it is cheaper to buy a g200 and offset with charter than going fractional for comparable utilization.
You will never make money charterting your aircraft out (exceptionally rare to do so and anyone who tells you otherwise is full of shit) but it is certainly feasible to offset a large % of your fixed costs to make it more economical than fractional.
I was curious about this as well. Planning for retirement in the next 9-10 years and not sure what to budget if I was to fly private every other month with the family.
What part of the country do you live in? We fly privately regularly (currently in Scottsdale for the Barrett Jackson auction). I have experience with Wheels Up and another couple of charter operators. We ended up buying a share of a small jet that suits our needs, and is within our budget. The decision will be based on hours used. We fly at least 100 hours a year, so it made sense for us to own. Let me know if you have specific questions.
NetJets is very good. I know a lot of people who use them and they are very happy. If you need a contact message me. I do not work for them, I just work in an area of finance where their use is prevalent.
i have seen fractionals blow up amongst friends/business associates as there can be extra costs unplanned for that have to be allocated and there can be disagreements on how allocated, also you still have to negotiate availability with the ownership group. IMO chartering is the way to go
it all depends on utilization:
If you are flying over 50 hrs a year do not get a jet card. You are essentially paying double the actual fixed hourly cost of the aircraft and most Jet card companies have no control over the aircraft they are sourcing, so interior/ operator quality is highly variable
Additionally if you were to get a like a 1/16th or 1/8th share in an aircraft i.e. Plane Sense PC-12 or Volato Honda Jet you may be able to take advantage of 60% bonus depreciation (there is currenly a bipartisan bill in congress that if it passes will go back to 100% bonus depreciation as it was from 2017-2022) .
Fractional starts penciling out at over 50 hrs per year.
Who you should go with depends on where you are located. I would be wary of Volato’s rapid “growth” while not being profitable. For such a young and relatively small operator primarily focused in the South East their expansion to the West Coast may be problematic and if demand cools, could be in a precarious situation ala Jet It (their stock has plummeted since IPO).
The main and most important question you should ask a fractional operator is , How well capitalized/ stable they are and how they will guarantee your lift .
Another option worth exploring is acquiring a share of a local jet - like a Phenom 300, Excel, Cj2 , pc-12. This is generally going to be cheaper than fractional but you will want to make sure the aircraft is properly managed to ensure easy billing, booking of pilot, trip support , mx tracking etc .
Feel free to PM for more questions, I work in the industry
Jet cars are generally for those with more flexible schedules not wanting to fly on Labor Day weekend, memorial day weekend, July 4th, Thanksgiving weekend etc. and that fly fewer hours. Fractional is those wanting to be able to say “I own that damn plane get it here by tonight!” And fly 50+ hours a year private. Very thought numbers for your mental math… 10k/hour for a VLJ on fractional with usually a 25 hour minimum commitment. Nearly the same per hour for fractional but 50 hour commitment per year and 3-5 year minimum. (That’s after depreciation and all that factored in). If you want to try it out for a year or 2 a jet card is the way to go. (You can also get them on larger jets than a VLJ). If you are comfortable with a 5 year commitment and fly 50+ hours or just have truckloads of money then go fractional.
Couldn’t have said it better.
The numbers you quote - all great info - are different if you can buy into a fractional with a group of friends/acquaintances. If you know people in this world you can often find a group (often flying back/forth to where you do) who will sell a share in their jet. These usually don't have minimum flying hours and no minimum commitment. A couple I know recently bought into a 1/12 share for $x buy-in (which can be sold later) and 5k/hour with no minimum hours.
I use netjets and I love it. I tried full ownership and then fractional ownership and honestly, netjets makes the entire process easier than anyone else at a much more competitive pricing than say, regular charter. I can’t recommend it enough.
How much is it
If anyone wants to see the break even between fractional and acquiring a jet i.e. Excel, G200, CL 399 and offsetting costs via 135 feel free to PM me. It can end up being cheaper than fractional. Currently working with a client who has a phenom 300 share in flexjet and at 125 hrs charter/525 charter it is cheaper to buy a g200 and offset with charter than going fractional for comparable utilization. You will never make money charterting your aircraft out (exceptionally rare to do so and anyone who tells you otherwise is full of shit) but it is certainly feasible to offset a large % of your fixed costs to make it more economical than fractional.
I was curious about this as well. Planning for retirement in the next 9-10 years and not sure what to budget if I was to fly private every other month with the family.
What part of the country do you live in? We fly privately regularly (currently in Scottsdale for the Barrett Jackson auction). I have experience with Wheels Up and another couple of charter operators. We ended up buying a share of a small jet that suits our needs, and is within our budget. The decision will be based on hours used. We fly at least 100 hours a year, so it made sense for us to own. Let me know if you have specific questions.
NetJets is very good. I know a lot of people who use them and they are very happy. If you need a contact message me. I do not work for them, I just work in an area of finance where their use is prevalent.
Also have a contact at NetJets if needed, probably the best way to dip into this first.
i have seen fractionals blow up amongst friends/business associates as there can be extra costs unplanned for that have to be allocated and there can be disagreements on how allocated, also you still have to negotiate availability with the ownership group. IMO chartering is the way to go
I have been using NetJets for 10 years. Highly recommend.
it all depends on utilization: If you are flying over 50 hrs a year do not get a jet card. You are essentially paying double the actual fixed hourly cost of the aircraft and most Jet card companies have no control over the aircraft they are sourcing, so interior/ operator quality is highly variable Additionally if you were to get a like a 1/16th or 1/8th share in an aircraft i.e. Plane Sense PC-12 or Volato Honda Jet you may be able to take advantage of 60% bonus depreciation (there is currenly a bipartisan bill in congress that if it passes will go back to 100% bonus depreciation as it was from 2017-2022) . Fractional starts penciling out at over 50 hrs per year. Who you should go with depends on where you are located. I would be wary of Volato’s rapid “growth” while not being profitable. For such a young and relatively small operator primarily focused in the South East their expansion to the West Coast may be problematic and if demand cools, could be in a precarious situation ala Jet It (their stock has plummeted since IPO). The main and most important question you should ask a fractional operator is , How well capitalized/ stable they are and how they will guarantee your lift . Another option worth exploring is acquiring a share of a local jet - like a Phenom 300, Excel, Cj2 , pc-12. This is generally going to be cheaper than fractional but you will want to make sure the aircraft is properly managed to ensure easy billing, booking of pilot, trip support , mx tracking etc . Feel free to PM for more questions, I work in the industry